The 6 Biggest Surprises At The 2016 Academy Awards

One of the reasons why we watch the Academy Awards is to see which upstart or underdog comes roaring from behind, out of nowhere, to walk away with Oscar gold. It happens each and every year, and the 88th annual Academy Awards were no exception. Perhaps there was nothing quite as big as Shakespeare in Love beating out Saving Private Ryan, or Crash taking Best Picture over Brokeback Mountain, but there were still a few choices that made you scratch your head and make a puzzled face. In that spirit, here are biggest upsets, shocks, and surprises of this year’s Academy Awards.

Mark Rylance Winning Best Supporting Actor Over Sylvester Stallone

The race for Best Supporting actor was never a foregone conclusion, with tough competition from Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, and Mark Ruffalo. That said, it was Sylvester Stallone, for his performance in Creed, who was the sentimental favorite, and after winning the Golden Globe, he appeared to be the frontrunner. It was a great story after all—it had been 40 years since his last nomination, for playing an older, broken incarnation of the iconic Rocky Balboa. Still, when the envelope was opened, it was Mark Rylance, and his quiet, understated turn as a resigned Russian spy in Steven Spielberg’s Cold War thriller Bridge of Spies, that walked away with the Oscar glory. And it doesn’t hurt that he gave an adorable speech and dressed kind of like a leprechaun.